Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I will go back to some of the points mentioned earlier. I have two questions for Mr. Woods. On the need for a funded workforce plan, I note the points that have been made about additional staff and so on but a very graphic example was given this morning. At the height of the Covid pandemic, there were 19 nurses working in a particular Covid ward, 12 of whom came down with the virus and went out sick. This placed a great additional burden on the remaining staff. This highlights the inadequate number of staff and facilities in our public health service. Is work to prepare a workforce plan to ensure adequate staffing levels under way? I would also welcome Mr. Woods's comments with regard to the request to make Covid-19 a notifiable disease to the Health and Safety Authority.